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Best way to connect K3, P3, Steppir, Acom 600s and PC

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WA6KEK

Best way to connect K3, P3, Steppir, Acom 600s and PC

Hi there,
Currently have my K3, P3, Steppir controller and PC working flawlessly via
the RS232 out on the K3 to the P3 then the Y cable to the Steppir and the
PC. Steppir follows logging program as does the K3 etc.
I just bought a Acom 600s and am not clear on how to best work it into my
connections so I get the auto band switching. I don't really want to use the
RF sensing method through the antenna cable.
Can the ACC port on the K3 be used to control the amp? I don't have anything
connected to that ACC port.
Thanks for any help!
Alan

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Don Wilhelm

Re: Best way to connect K3, P3, Steppir, Acom 600s and PC

Alan,

Not having that amplifier, I cannot give you a positive answer, but I
can tell you how to determine if the BAND DATA outputs of the ACC
connector will band switch the amplifier.

What you need to look for is "band decoder" or something similar in the
amp manual. There may even be a chart of which codes will activate
which bands. Compare that with the chart of the coding on the BAND 0-3
outputs of the ACC pins. If they match, then all you have to do is make
up a cable to send the right bits to the amplifier.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 10/31/2017 4:50 PM, WA6KEK wrote:

> Hi there,
> Currently have my K3, P3, Steppir controller and PC working flawlessly via
> the RS232 out on the K3 to the P3 then the Y cable to the Steppir and the
> PC. Steppir follows logging program as does the K3 etc.
> I just bought a Acom 600s and am not clear on how to best work it into my
> connections so I get the auto band switching. I don't really want to use the
> RF sensing method through the antenna cable.
> Can the ACC port on the K3 be used to control the amp? I don't have anything
> connected to that ACC port.
> Thanks for any help!

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w0mu

Re: Best way to connect K3, P3, Steppir, Acom 600s and PC

The N6TV Acc port devices work great. Allow 4 attachements to the ACC
15 pin lines and much much more.

On 10/31/2017 3:04 PM, Don Wilhelm wrote:

> Alan,
>
> Not having that amplifier, I cannot give you a positive answer, but I
> can tell you how to determine if the BAND DATA outputs of the ACC
> connector will band switch the amplifier.
>
> What you need to look for is "band decoder" or something similar in
> the amp manual. There may even be a chart of which codes will
> activate which bands. Compare that with the chart of the coding on
> the BAND 0-3 outputs of the ACC pins. If they match, then all you
> have to do is make up a cable to send the right bits to the amplifier.
>
> 73,
> Don W3FPR
>
> On 10/31/2017 4:50 PM, WA6KEK wrote:
>> Hi there,
>> Currently have my K3, P3, Steppir controller and PC working
>> flawlessly via
>> the RS232 out on the K3 to the P3 then the Y cable to the Steppir and
>> the
>> PC. Steppir follows logging program as does the K3 etc.
>> I just bought a Acom 600s and am not clear on how to best work it
>> into my
>> connections so I get the auto band switching. I don't really want to
>> use the
>> RF sensing method through the antenna cable.
>> Can the ACC port on the K3 be used to control the amp? I don't have
>> anything
>> connected to that ACC port.
>> Thanks for any help!
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
> Message delivered to [hidden email]

Don Wilhelm

Re: Best way to connect K3, P3, Steppir, Acom 600s and PC

In reply to this post by WA6KEK

Alan,

Another answer along with a bit more data and a caution - IF the amp is
capable of listening on the RS-232 connection for band information, add
another "Y" cable between your current "Y" cable and the PC and the amp
should be able to use that data.

Caution, if the amp uses full RS-232 communication (both send and
listen), that will interfere with your current setup. BUT if the amp
only 'listens' to the information on the RS-232 interface, all will work
well.

In other words, an RS-232 connection can have only one set of drivers.
Multiple devices can 'listen in' to the traffic on the receive line with
no problem.

73,
Don W3FPR

On 10/31/2017 4:50 PM, WA6KEK wrote:

WA6KEK

Re: Best way to connect K3, P3, Steppir, Acom 600s and PC

In reply to this post by WA6KEK

Thanks for the replies; great suggestions!
I went with the ACC port for now. It is all working fine after a mini
debacle described below:
At first plugging in my newly made cable from the diagram on the ACOM
website, I only got "CAT error" on the ACOM 600s. Checked all my settings,
all good. Double checked my cable; all correct to the ACOM provided diagram.
Then I checked my cable with the K3 manual and found that I had BAND2 OUT on
pin 10 on the K3 side while the K3 manual says pin 9 is the one to use.
Double checked the ACOM diagram and it depicts pin 10. Read the text on the
ACOM diagram and it says to use pin 9. Switched to pin 9 and all works
correctly. Sent an email to ACOM to let them know about the error. Note that
ACOM support has been excellent.

Below is the diagram V1.2 from the ACOM 600s download page on the ACOM
website.
Note the text for BAND2 OUT is correct for the K3 side with pin 9; the
diagram incorrectly shows pin 10.
V1.0 and V1.1 text matches the diagram for BAND2 OUT.

<http://elecraft.365791.n2.nabble.com/file/t387424/ACOM_600s_K3_BCD_CAT_cable_v1.jpg>

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